There are two ways to place your product for sale on the shelves of a grocery store: approach small corner grocers to build a customer following for your product or find a good distributor. In nearly all cases, new products are introduced to the grocer by a professional product distributor. Even those products sold as "locally made" or "homemade" are likely represented by a distributor, making the latter approach a more viable option for success.

Step 1

Conduct market research by visiting as many of your local grocery stores as possible. Talk to the buyers about what they look for in products sold at their stores, what their business terms are and ask for recommendations of distributors who work with the stores. Visit the section where your products would potentially be displayed and take notes and photographs so you can analyze why each store carries these products, and how your product can stand out above the rest.

Step 2

Use your market research to create attention-grabbing and professional looking packaging for your grocery product. Spend the money to hire a well-regarded packaging designer to design the packaging for your product. Oddly enough, packaging oftentimes sells product more than anything else does. Working with an experienced package designer not only brands your product with a good look for the grocery store shelf, but also garners helpful information from an experienced professional and possibly introductions to additional distributors, over and above the names you gathered in Step 1, who can assist you in getting your product to the stores.

Step 3

Contact the distributors on your list of referrals. Set up an appointment to show them your product and facilitate tasting if your product is a food item. Discuss how your product is unique over your competitors and why it should be stocked on the distributor's shelves. Listen to each distributor's feedback constructively, as they might have some really good tips to ensure your product's future success. If nobody wants to distribute your product, do not get discouraged. Launch your product in small stores and gourmet boutiques to build market acceptance data to prove your concept to distributors at a later date.

Step 4

Approach small local grocery stores about carrying your product on consignment, which means they pay you after the product is sold rather than buying it from you outright and hoping it sells. Store owners, particularly small gourmet boutique owners, are always careful about risking inventory money on new products that might not sell. This launches your product and gives you a way to test its market acceptance. It also allows you to work out the kinks in your manufacturing and logistics before having to supply large orders.

Step 5

Attend trade shows for the general grocery industry or the specific industry for your product. You can meet distributors, buyers and marketing pros at trade shows. If your product is ready, get a small display booth where you can showcase your product to distributors and buyers. If you have not produced enough of your product to showcase, just wander around, meet people and learn. Use the opportunity to examine your competition to see what is working for them. A trade show is where you can most easily find the market professionals that can successfully launch your product, so ask everyone you meet to recommend a great distributor for your product and buyers looking for what you produce.

Tip

Getting your product on grocery shelves is often a long process of making presentation after presentation. Do not give up. Launching a product is a numbers game. The more presentations you make, the higher your chances of getting someone to believe in your product.

References

About the Author

Victoria Duff specializes in entrepreneurial subjects, drawing on her experience as an acclaimed start-up facilitator, venture catalyst and investor relations manager. Since 1995 she has written many articles for e-zines and was a regular columnist for "Digital Coast Reporter" and "Developments Magazine." She holds a Bachelor of Arts in public administration from the University of California at Berkeley.